I'm annoyed that so many Hollywood celebrities hate the system that made them rich.

Actor/comedian Russell Brand told the BBC he wants "a socialist, egalitarian system based on the massive redistribution of wealth."

Director George Lucas got rich not just from movies but also by selling Star Wars merchandise. Yet he says he believes in democracy but "not capitalist democracy."

Actor Martin Sheen says, "That's where the problem lies ... It's corporate America." And so on. On my TV show, actor/author Kevin Sorbo pointed out that such sentiments make little sense coming from entertainers. "It's a very entrepreneurial business. You have to work very hard to get lucky, mixed with any kind of talent to get a break in this business. I told Clooney, George, you're worth $100 million -- of course you can afford to be a socialist!"

It's bad enough that celebrities trash the only economic system that makes poor people's lives better. What's worse is that many are hypocrites.

It's bad enough that celebrities trash the only economic system that makes poor people's lives better. What's worse is that many are hypocrites.

Celebrities who support big-government politicians routinely take advantage of tax breaks, which reduce the amount they contribute to that government.

It's nice that Obama supporter Bon Jovi has a foundation that builds houses for poor people, but at tax time, the musician labels himself a "farmer." He pays only $100 in state property tax. And his tax dodge gimmick: raising honeybees.

Bruce Springsteen sings about factories closing down but pays little tax on the hundreds of acres of land he owns. His dodge: An organic farmer works his land. Hollywood's campaign to "save the earth" brings out the most hypocrisy.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio recently announced, "I will fly around the world doing good for the environment."

Really? Flying around the world?

I'm amazed they're not embarrassed by what they say. Maybe they don't know how clueless they are because reporters rarely confront them about their hypocrisy.

He and his cameraman located Harrison Ford after the actor had himself filmed getting his chest hair waxed. Ford said the pain of ripping out his chest hair should make us think about the pain the Earth feels when trees in a rainforest are cut down.

Chest hair, rain forest -- get it?

But that environmental message came from a celebrity who owns seven airplanes.

Ford once even flew his private jet to get a cheeseburger! "I don't care that he owns seven airplanes," said Mattera, "but do not lecture the rest of us that we're on the precipice of global warming Armageddon while you have a sasquatch-sized carbon footprint."

Even though Ford ignored Mattera when confronted by him, at least he was forced to listen to someone questioning his positions.

Some actors wake up to the burden of big government when they try doing something outside acting. Actors usually collect a paycheck. They rarely deal with government regulation; their agent handles the details.

When actor and lifelong Democrat Rob Schneider tried launching a business, he was so offended by California's burdensome regulation that he left the state and changed political parties.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was enthusiastic about free markets when he owned a bricklaying business. But, unfortunately, during his time as California governor, he started to act more like a supporter of big government. Being a politician has that effect on people, especially in California.

Actors Drew Carey and Vince Vaughn are among the few others who've seen the light.

On ReasonTV, Carey said, "We don't need a centralized government to tell us what to do all the time."

On a radio show, Vaughn recently said, "I'm very supportive of Ron Paul ... As you get older ... you just get less trust in the government running anything.

If you look at the Constitution and the principles of liberty, the real purpose of government is to protect the individual's right."

Yeah, I was watching a bit with Drew Carey on some show recently where he was basically saying the same thing. People who are hypocrites generally get 'the teaching' at some point in their lives. I just wish it were sooner rather than later....

Chris Hardwick is NERDIST GOD.

Here's the KITTY!

"OH!"

"PEANUT BUTTAHJELLEH!"

"I'm DAMAGED...and I LIKE IT!"

"We are here to HELP each other, not to HARM each other. Think about it..."

Celebs like big government because they ask themselves, "What about the stupid people?" The reason they ask this question is because that is what they are. In most cases high-school dropouts. I'm not saying in all cases high-school dropouts are stupid. I'm just saying it's more likely. YMMV

Michael Moore fits in that boat too, but tends to worries the others when it almost capsizes. I really like Stossel. Many years ago when he was on ABC (I think) he did a show called Are We Scaring Ourselves To Death? about the hyperbole and flavour of the month illnesses that the news and government warn us about. Then that fades into the background and something new rears it's purportedly deadly head only to follow the last illness into nothingness.

Michael Moore fits in that boat too, but tends to worries the others when it almost capsizes. I really like Stossel. Many years ago when he was on ABC (I think) he did a show called Are We Scaring Ourselves To Death? about the hyperbole and flavour of the month illnesses that the news and government warn us about. Then that fades into the background and something new rears it's purportedly deadly head only to follow the last illness into nothingness.

Did he talk about how the news does the same thing with political stuff? "OMG raceriots OMG!!" and "Look at the evil conservatives picking on the poor and downtrodden" and "the government is going to martial law!" etc etc. It comes from both sides. And Stossel is just one of them doing the same shit everyone else is. Remember this is the same brainiac who said women should pay more for health insurance because "maybe they are hypochondriacs."

News is no longer about informing you, its about ratings. Stossel is at the top of that pile.

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“Music is probably the only real magic I have encountered in my life. It's pure and it's real. It moves, it heals.” - Tom Petty

Stossel I've found to be a very pragmatic libertarian and one of the few on television in that capacity. That said, and judging by my children's beliefs on how the world works is that we are today more at risk for building a ruling class than we ever were. Pop culture icons are many and more varied than ever before. There is not merely culture and counter-culture anymore. Everything flows in one direction now. Counter-culture is dead. Dissent is dead. Disobedience is discouraged. Hollywood is more complicit in this than they ever were during the McCarthy era when they made their own purges.

When I told my children that there was an era where famous people burned their draft cards, or marched on Washington against the government, etc, they are shocked. Today it is all in lockstep.

Hollywood is more complicit in this than they ever were during the McCarthy era when they made their own purges.

I agreed with most of what you said about dissent until you got to this point, FJ. To the best of my knowledge, there have been few, if any conservative celebrities that have been "black-balled" by leftists in the entertainment industry. People like Jon Voight, Drew Carey, Kelsey Grammer and others have done very well by "liberal entertainment complex" and continue to get choice roles. Hell, even Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are avid 2nd amendment supporters and I don't think anyone would say they've been hurt by their political beliefs at all.

During the McCarthy era, careers were ruined. The government was having hearings and calling actors, producers, directors and owners to testify before congressional committees about their knowledge of the Communist Party, and who might be spreading propaganda within the industry.

To say that things are worse today just doesn't hold water. The two don't even remotely compare.

I agreed with most of what you said about dissent until you got to this point, FJ. To the best of my knowledge, there have been few, if any conservative celebrities that have been "black-balled" by leftists in the entertainment industry. People like Jon Voight, Drew Carey, Kelsey Grammer and others have done very well by "liberal entertainment complex" and continue to get choice roles. Hell, even Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are avid 2nd amendment supporters and I don't think anyone would say they've been hurt by their political beliefs at all.

During the McCarthy era, careers were ruined. The government was having hearings and calling actors, producers, directors and owners to testify before congressional committees about their knowledge of the Communist Party, and who might be spreading propaganda within the industry.

To say that things are worse today just doesn't hold water. The two don't even remotely compare.

I was giving a 15 year old's view of the world. I agree with you, I made an exaggerated comparison, but one without the depth of knowledge more years brings.

Why, Joe, you think yer dealin' with 15 yr olds?!?...as for Stossel, he lost me when he started becoming a conservative mouthpiece...guess someones gotta do it, he's not as obnoxious as some of the others, more libertarian, less dogmatic conservative...and I don't see the hypocricy in the hollywood crowd, yeah, they've made good on the capitalist ideal, doesn't mean the have to support it, or do without just cuz they don't agree with the system...

Why, Joe, you think yer dealin' with 15 yr olds?!?...as for Stossel, he lost me when he started becoming a conservative mouthpiece...guess someones gotta do it, he's not as obnoxious as some of the others, more libertarian, less dogmatic conservative...and I don't see the hypocricy in the hollywood crowd, yeah, they've made good on the capitalist ideal, doesn't mean the have to support it, or do without just cuz they don't agree with the system...

I think the hypocrisy speaks volumes on a non-workable system. If Hollywood does one thing and supports another, it doesn't bode well for they are supporting. They are proving that it doesn't work, or it won't work, and in the process create an elite class of people for whom the rules don't apply.

Yes, what 15 year olds think and see is quite important. There is purity in what they see because they are only being reached by the current media. Did you know Beyonce' dropped her album today and it was a surprise? She can do that because she is talented. You know Beyonce' and Jay Z are the ultimate arbiters of political thought as well.

Point is, these people are jackasses. We should reject their statements and follow their example.

I'd venture to guess many Hollywood celebrities lean left out of guilt. To make absurd amounts of money ($20 million for a movie?) for six months of work, I have to think deep down they know they've got it easy. Hawking for lefty causes helps to assuage their guilt for being part of the ugly 1%. I'm sure the West Virginia coal miner suffering from black lung agrees with every actor or actress when they talk about how tough their jobs are. They just don't have a grasp on reality.

It is true, that a little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism; but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion.